… while PRINCES WILLIAM AND HARRY follow their mother’s example of fun parenthood
‘It’s important my children know who she was and that she existed’
Prince William
W ith
a broad smile on his face and a look of unmistakeable pride in the two children at his side, the Duke of Cambridge was every inch the doting dad on a Father’s Day outing with Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
The future King took his eldest children along with him to officially start the Run Sandringham charity event, walking hand in hand to the stage, where they gathered around a microphone to count the competitors down. In a blue shirt and navy chinos, Prince William was clearly enjoying himself as George, who turns eight on 22 July, and Charlotte, six, both wearing shorts and trainers, joined him to wave off the competitors.
HAPPY CHILDHOOD
The Duke, who turned 39 last week, has done everything he can to ensure that George, Charlotte and three-yearold Prince Louis grow up experiencing the sort of childhood that Diana, Princess of Wales wanted for him and his brother Prince Harry.
The photos are all the more poignant, coming just days before what would have been her 60th birthday on 1 July. Then the two brothers will reunite to unveil a memorial statue in a place dear to Diana’s heart: the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, where they were raised by her and which George, Charlotte and Louis also now call home.
Diana’s death in Paris in 1997 meant, of course, that she never met her grandchildren. But William and Harry have clearly been influenced as parents by her sense of fun and determinedly hands-on approach.
‘She was the best mum in the world. She smothered us with love’ Harry
Both brothers relish spending time with their children, taking them on tours and enjoying family time away from the spotlight. While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son Archie and his new baby sister Lili are thriving in the Californian sunshine, taking trips to the beach, George, Charlotte and Louis delight in rough and tumble with their parents on the Norfolk coast and in the grounds of their country home, Anmer Hall.
Diana, who famously took her boys to theme parks and McDonald’s as well as introducing them to homeless people through her charity work, would no doubt be proud of the way her sons are bringing up their own children, surrounded by love and affection and with plenty of experience of real life.
FATHERLY LOVE
Speaking to the BBC in 2016, William said: “There’ll be a time and a place to bring George up and understand how he fits in the world. But right now, it’s just a case of keeping a secure, stable environment around him and showing him as much love as I can as a father.”
The following year, he said: “I want George to grow up in a real, living environment, I don’t want him growing up behind palace walls, he has to be out there. The media
‘I want George
growing up in a real living environment’
William
make it harder, but I will fight for them to have a normal life.”
Harry, having made the decision to put his young family ahead of royal duties and begin a new life with Meghan in the US, has stepped away from the institution.
But whatever separates the royal brothers now, they will be forever united by their memories of Diana and the lasting impact she has had on their lives and the wider world.
Last week Harry was spotted in a car en route to Los Angeles Airport ready to fly to London ahead of this Thursday, when the
eyes of the world will be on him and William as they put aside any recent differences to unveil the sculpture, by Ian Rank-Broadley. He will join the brothers, members of Diana’s close family, garden designer Pip Morrison and members of the committee that oversaw the project at the small event.
The statue will form a permanent public memorial to the young mother and global icon who touched so many lives. Having commissioned the artwork and agreed on the design, it is a wish fulfilled for the two Dukes, who had long wanted a proper tribute to their mother set in stone.
Even without the statue, however,
“Granny Diana” is remembered every day by her sons and their families – on both sides of the Atlantic. Both William and Harry have given their daughters Charlotte and Lilibet the middle name Diana in her honour, and show photographs to their children to keep her memory alive.
Talking about his son Archie, two, in his recent mental health documentaries The Me You Can’t See, Harry said: “I got a photo of her in his nursery, and it was one of the first words that he said. Apart from ‘ mama’, ‘ papa’, i t was then ‘grandma’. Grandma Diana. It’s the sweetest thing, but at the same time, it makes me really sad because she should be here.” Similarly, in a documentary to mark the 20th anniversary of her death in 2017, William said: “I regularly put George and Charlotte to bed, talk about her and just try to remind them that there are two grandmothers – there were two grandmothers in their lives. So, it’s important that they know who she was and that she existed.”
On Mother’s Day this year, Kensington Palace shared images of cards made by the Cambridge children for “Granny Diana”, including one from Charlotte which read: “Papa is missing you.”
Despite their sadness at her absence, the brothers share plenty of joyful memories of